St. Eutychus – Page 185

Five Steps to Better Coffee: Step Four: The extraction

You’ve got your coffee ready to go after following steps one, two and three – and now it’s time to complete the science of extracting the coffee flavour and caffeine you’re looking for from your cuppa. Here we’ll provide a few tips on espresso extraction, plunger preparation and a guide to stovetop espresso.

Espresso
Espresso is to coffee what nectar is to fruit juice. It’s thick. It’s undiluted. And it’s the basis of most coffee drinks you’ll buy out and about in Australian cafes.

There are, as in every step of the preparation process, a number of variables to be aware of when it comes to extracting your espresso. Essentially, the temperature of the water, the time taken, and the pressure applied to the coffee are the big three.

Water temperature
One of the biggest (and most common) crimes in coffee preparation is using water that is too hot. A lot of machines will overheat if left on too long. Water will sit in the boiler or thermoblock and heat past 96 degrees (about spot on for espresso). The easiest way to overcome this is to flush hot water from the system before pulling your shot (coffee jargon for pushing the button, espresso machines historically used levers for the process of extracting coffee).

If the water is too cold it won’t cause the coffee oils to separate from the granules, if it’s too hot it’ll get too much oil on the way through. Leaving your coffee bitter. If you like bitter coffee use water that is too hot and extract for too long – it’s all about personal taste.

Shot time
The time taken for a shot is important – if the water is in contact with the coffee for too long it absorbs too much coffee oil and becomes bitter, if the water is in contact with the coffee for too short a time (if the coffee shoots through the coffee quickly) it won’t pick up any of these oils and will taste like brown water.

The Specialty Coffee Association of America, a leading authority, suggests ideal shot times of 20 seconds, the generally accepted principle is that between 20 and 30 seconds is ideal.

Pressure
Until recently playing around with pressure during the shot has been largely impossible (this is changing with the latest and greatest commercial machines). When it comes to home machines it’s a matter of finding a machine that will pump water through your coffee at about 9 bar of pressure (15 bar machines are a little misleading).

Plunger tips

Boil water.
Grind coffee coarsely use about 8gm per 250mL of water.
Pour the boiling water into the plunger to heat it (and put the plunger part in.
Let the water cool a couple of degrees.
Add the coffee
Stir and replace the plunger
Plunge after 3-4 mins. Push down firmly but slowly.

Stovetop tips

Put in less water than recommended on the box, use more coffee than for machine produced espresso.
Tamp the coffee (not too hard).
Start with hot/boiling in the chamber (use a kettle first). You’ll need to wear an oven mitt or something as you screw the top on.
Put on medium heat, use a pre-heated element.
As soon coffee starts flowing remove it from the heat.

This should produce thick and rich stovetop coffee with a layer of crema.

July 17, 2010

Five steps to better coffee: Step Three: The dose

Once you’ve got your supply of fresh beans and your grind sorted it’s time to make your coffee – the next step where coffee often fails is in the “dose” – in espresso preparation this is the amount of coffee ground and tamped into your portafiller basket. The portafiller is the fancy name for “the handle that goes into the machine.”

The amount of coffee used per cup is also important in all other methods of coffee preparation, but it is one of the most controllable variables in your coffee preparation routine. Some baristas seeking to control every variable to the nearest micro detail will even weigh the ground coffee before making their drinks. Others will develop a consistent routine to ensure they get the same result every time.

When it comes to espresso getting the dose wrong can have profound impacts on your extraction, too much and the coffee will stall or pour too slowly. The ideal for espresso is for about 30mL in 25-30 seconds, a shot that takes longer, called a ristretto, is thicker, oilier, and becoming increasingly popular in specialty cafes. Ristrettos can be achieved by increasing your dose.

The basic routine for espresso dosing is to grind your coffee into the portafiller basket until it is heaped over the top. A good tip at this point is to use the double shot basket even when you’re only going to use a single shot. It tastes better.

Bang it against a flat surface a few times (aim for the same number every time) to settle the coffee – you don’t want big gaps or different densities in the puck your coffee will form in the basket – having uniform density means the water has to travel through the coffee evenly.

Next, level off the coffee with a flat surface (use the same thing each time – most baristas use their fingers, but you can use the back of a bread knife or buy expensive dosing tools). Volume is more important than weight – different beans have different densities and it’s important to have the same volume of coffee in the basket each time rather than the same weight, but a ball park is 14gm for a double shot.

Then tamp (push down on) the coffee firmly – some people suggest tamping with 15kg of force (you can practice on bathroom scales, practice pushing down on them with your tamper/flat round surface until it reads 15kg or thereabouts). When the coffee is tamped properly you should be able to flip the portafiller upside down without getting coffee all over your bench, once you’ve got the coffee in the basket it’s time to extract your shot.

When it comes to dosing for your plunger coffee or filtered/percolated coffee there are ideal ratios of coffee to water – that are also best calculated using volume. For a plunger, also called a “French Press” or a presspot, the ratio is one heaped tablespoon per cup of coffee. Brewed coffee (percolaters, drip filters, etc) needs about two tablespoons for one and a half cups.

July 16, 2010

Listen up nerds. Westboro Baptist says God hates you

Everybody’s least favourite protest church is getting contempervant. First up, they’re targeting a comic convention. Because God apparently hates nerds, and super heroes are idols.

Picture credit: Kotaku’s coverage

“It is time to put away the silly vanities and turn to God like you mean it. The destruction of this nation is imminent – so start calling on Batman and Superman now, see if they can pull you from the mess that you have created with all your silly idolatry.”

The proof text on that sign, Romans 9:13, is a little bit odd. Apparently Esau was a nerd.

“Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

This just shows a bizarre disregard for any description of Jacob (a mummy’s boy) and Esau from the Bible (Genesis 25).

Here’s a description of the two from Genesis:

“27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.”

Esau is an anti-nerd. It seems more likely that God loves nerds who stay at home quietly with their mothers. I’d go a step further and suggest that the Westboro Baptist crew, in their militant and confrontational approach to spreading the gospel, have embrace an Esau like approach to life. And thus they are damned by their own proof text.

I sent Westboro a letter to let them know. I’d hate for them to fall foul of accusations that they don’t know their Bibles very well…

“Hi guys,

I noticed your protest of the Comic Convention featured a sign “God Hates Nerds” citing Romans 9:13 as a text.

Romans 9:13 “Jacob I loved, Esau I hated” doesn’t really work when applied to nerds.

Esau was the least nerdy of the pair – in fact, Genesis’ description of the brothers (25:27-28) suggests that it was, in fact, Jacob who was the nerd. Jacob stays at home with mum (typical nerd behaviour) while Esau goes outside and hunts like a man.

“27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.”

If you’re going to use scripture to back up your arguments at least do it properly.

Regards,

Nathan Campbell”

Other events that Westboro Baptist will be protesting in the near future include a Baseball game (God hates sport), and a Lady Gaga concert (God hates gender ambiguous costumed pop stars).

There schedule comes complete with this little parody of Hallelujah, perhaps Westboro’s attempt at contextualisation:

“Your God has seen what you have done. There’s nothing new beneath the sun. He’s sent a lying spirit down to fool you. We’ve seen your flags on your crumbling arch. Your filth is not a victory march. God hates your feasts and faithless Hallelujahs.”

On Gaga…

“Now what type of wicked hypocrites would we be if we did not warn this little false prophetess and all of her over-indulged sycophants that they are each one, individually heading straight to hell in a gender-confused, self-loathing, tone-deaf hand basket and that a gift from the God they hate?”

Thanks to my friend Mika for the tip.

July 16, 2010

Five steps to better coffee: Step Two: The Grind

So, with step one complete, you’ll have the best beans for the job. The next step in any preparation of coffee is turning the beans into coffee ready for your machine, pot, or plunger.

The fundamental principle of coffee preparation is reproducability. The one commandment of coffee making is though shalt control your variables. We’ll move on to aiming to consistently reproduce the same routine in the next step – but getting the grind is fundamental.

Grinding immediately before use will dramatically enhance your coffee. But not all grinders are created equal. There are two “families” of grinder – burr and blade. Blade grinders aren’t ideal. They’re slightly better than nothing. But unless you do exactly the same thing every time with the same number of beans at the same weight being bashed by the blade the same number of times, you’re not going to get consistency. You’ll never get uniform sized particles and you’ll probably overheat the coffee particles due to friction. If you grind too fine you’ll overwhelm yourself with coffee that has too much oil and is too bitter.

They are a good stepping stone to improving your coffee at home – and if you want to start off with a blade grinder here are some tips:

Don’t hold the button down for ages and batter the coffee into dust.
Pulse the button for short bursts (two to five seconds) to avoid overheating the ground coffee.
For a fine grind go for about 20 seconds of these bursts, for a coarse grind aim for around 10 seconds.
These work better for plunger and filter coffee than for espresso.

Burr grinders are more expensive. But with reason. They are more mechanically complex and they produce a better result. The burrs lock together like cogs crushing the coffee into evenly sized particles. You can control the size of the particles by moving the burrs closer or further apart. You need a different sized particle for every machine and for every different brewing method (extra-fine for Turkish, fine for espresso, medium for drip filter and large for plunger).

Tips for choosing a burr grinder

Be prepared to spend more on the grinder than the machine (unless you’re buying a $1000 plus machine).
Look for maximum adjustability in the grind size, “stepless” is better than “stepped”…
Be prepared to waste some coffee finding the right settings.
Clean the grinder regularly to avoid build ups of stale coffee.
Steer clear of dosered grinders for home use (grinders like they have at cafes with big chambers on the front).

A good guide to burr grinders available in Australia can be found here.

July 15, 2010

High steaks advertising

Scent branding is taken to a whole new level with this billboard advertising a steakhouse – during peak hour it pumps the smell of delicious steak into the streets…

July 15, 2010

Five Steps to Better Coffee: Step One: The Beans

Coffee was discovered almost by accident, when a young African goat herder noticed his goats’ increased energy after they had chowed down on some funny looking berries. After much experimenting and many years of experimenting, turning the seeds of these berries into a drink became the preferred method of consumption.

Good coffee at home is just five easy steps away from reality. If you’ve wondered what the difference between the coffee you get in your favourite cafe and the stuff you produce at home is, and why yours doesn’t taste the same, then there are some simple factors that can go a long way towards making your coffee dreams a reality.

Good coffee is a science – but an accessible science. All coffee, be it espresso based, plunger (or French Press), pour-over, brewed, filtered… you name the method… is a matter of combining coffee oils with water. The factors involved in the taste at the end are many and varied – but the most important factor in determining whether a cup of coffee tastes good is the beans. If you put rubbish coffee into the process it doesn’t matter how rigorously you apply the science of coffee. You’ll end up with rubbish in the cup.

There are a lot of factors in the humble bean that will effect the taste of the final product. The ultimate goal is to find a bean flavour you like, and to stick with it (or know how changing the different variables will change the end result). The golden rule when it comes to coffee, and the one that you’ll want to keep no matter your preference for taste, is freshness. Freshly roasted beans, freshly ground. Coffee preparation is chemistry. If beans are not consumed within three weeks of roasting then most of the flavour has essentially evaporated (the beans become stale). If they’re not consumed within three minutes of grinding then most of the oils on the surface of your ground particles of coffee will have reacted to the air around them. You want to maximise the contact of coffee oils with water during the preparation process in order to bring the most flavour out of your beans.

Coffee tasters primarily talk about the taste of coffee in terms of flavour, acidity and body (how robust the flavour is, the consistency of a shot of coffee from watery to oily). In a shot of espresso the oils can separate from the rest of the shot to form a coloured layer called crema. This is full of acidy oil and unpleasant to taste by itself, but it also adds significantly to the body.

Here are the variables in the beans, and the steps you can take to maximise your enjoyment.

Freshly Roasted

Unless you’re prepared to roast your own beans at home (more on that later) you have to put your trust in a roasting company at this point. The key to a great cup of coffee is using your beans between about three days and three weeks of roasting (most coffee rules involve the number three). This rules out most coffee beans sold in supermarkets, and even most beans sold by chain cafes (like Gloria Jeans).

Here are some tips for getting freshly roasted coffee:

Buy direct from the roaster. There are boutique and large scale roasters operating all over Brisbane – from big players like Merlo, Campos, and Di Bella, to small operations like The Coffee Guy in Clayfield, Litse in Keperra, BlackStar and Cup in West End… There’s no excuse for not going to these guys – and you’re often paying similar prices per kilo to what you’re paying at Woolworths for better quality.
If you can’t buy direct from a roaster buy from a brand that roasts in Brisbane – try to cut out freight times. Don’t buy beans that are imported roasted from overseas or interstate. Avoid cafes that have bags of beans for sale from shelves that look like they sit there for weeks.
Wherever possible you should buy beans that come with a “roasted on” label on the bag.

Freshly Ground

Getting the grind right is essential for good coffee (it’s step two in our five steps). But if you’re not sure about grinding your own beans, the sooner you can get the coffee from the grinder to your cup the better. A good rule of thumb for coffee preparation is that you should spend more money on a grinder than a machine. We’ll cover grinding in more depth as we go – but you’ll get better coffee from a $20 stove top and $150 dollar grinder than from a $20 herb/coffee grinder and $150 machine. You’ll get better coffee from a $20 herb grinder than from a bag of pre-ground vacuum sealed beans off the supermarket shelf, and possibly marginally better coffee this way than if you buy small batches pre-ground from a specialty coffee shop.

Tips:

If you’re going to buy pre-ground coffee, buy it in small batches. Not by the kilo.
If you’re going to invest in a coffee set up for home get the grinder first.
It’s ok to start with a hand cranked burr grinder and a plunger.
Grind on demand. Don’t do a batch for the week. Avoid cafes that don’t grind to order. Every second counts.

Roast profile

Unless you’re roasting your own beans this is one of those things you don’t have any control over – and can’t possibly know for sure. Good roasters moderate the heat being applied to beans at every stage in a roast. Temperature control throughout the roast effects the even distribution of heat to the batch of beans and within the bean itself. Good roasters get the most out of their beans by considering the chemical reaction that occurs within a bean during a roast.

The visible signs of the “roast profile,” and the best way to characterise the roast as an end user, comes from how dark the beans are. Generally speaking, the darker the roast the stronger the coffee. As beans roast their composition changes somewhat – the coffee oils move to the surface of the beans as they get darker (they also get shinier as they darken). It’s a bit like chocolate – the lighter the beans, the sweeter they are, the darker they are the more bitter/strong the flavour is. Light roasts also maintain the individual characteristics of different beans (we’ll get to “origin” in a moment).

Most roasters use the “roast profile” to modify the strength of both the caffeine hit from a coffee and its flavour. When a roaster says a coffee is strong they probably mean dark too. Figure out what you like. This is ultimately a matter of preference.

Freshness of green beans

Green bean freshness isn’t as important as the freshness of roasted beans. Green beans can be stored for a few years before roasting. But there is some evidence to suggest that coffees roasted sooner are a big “brighter” or zestier, while they become more mellow and earthy with age. These effects can also be created by using beans from different origins.

Storage

Keeping air away from beans is important. Vacuum sealed, or air tight containers are the best way to keep beans fresh. A simple zip lock bag with a one-way valve is fine. This valve is especially important for very freshly roasted coffee which is releasing gas as it stablilises. A sealed bag of coffee that puffs up between uses is a sure sign that beans are fresh. Drinking beans while they haven’t properly degassed results in a slightly effervescent (and unpleasant) cup.

Many roasters refrigerate their beans and advocate keeping beans in the fridge or freezer – this is on the whole a bad idea. If you do choose to refrigerate your beans it is important to allow them to come back to room temperature before grinding. Cold beans often become moist as they return to air temperature. This moisture is bad.

Blend/origin

The difference in flavour between coffee beans roasted with the same profile is determined by the conditions in which the beans are grown and prepared for roasting. There are heaps of variables in this process like soil acidity, the altitude the coffee is grown at, and how the coffee fruit is dried and stripped from the seeds (which become our beans…). Different origins have different properties which can be appreciated individually as “single origin” coffees or combined to form balanced blends making the most of different varieties. Professional coffee tasters use this tasting wheel to describe the characteristics of varieties of coffee based on taste and smell. Some people think this is a bit like wine tasting or selling snake oil – but it is helpful to characterise coffees based on levels of acidity and sweetness.

Image source: whole latte love

The first step towards better coffee is coming to terms with these factors and deciding what it is that you like in your mug. Once you know what you prefer you can begin to pursue that taste in every cup. And at that point it’s time to move on to steps two to five.

July 15, 2010

Five steps to better coffee

This Saturday night our church is hosting a coffee night with myself and former Di Bella Coffee Roaster Daniel Russell. Here’s the flier. You’re more than welcome to come along – RSVP in the comments.

I’m about to post five posts in a series “five steps to better coffee” which will become the booklet we give out on the night (hopefully). I’ll also do a bit of a dummies guide to home roasting.

If your church (in Brisbane) would like to run a similar night – let me know. I’m sure Dan and I can be talked into helping out…

July 15, 2010

One armed, one legged, chicken-killing monkey

I’m not sure if there’s a moral to this story. But I found it a bit amusing. It’s the ultimate case of “monkey see, monkey do”… the monkey was rescued from a perilous health situation by its owner, who amputated two decayed limbs. The primate now hangs out in the house, trying to earn his keep by copying his master as he goes about his house chores. Unfortunately he has a real knack for killing chickens.

“And when Li slaughtered a chicken, the monkey copied him and has since killed about 80 chickens, reports the Chuncheng Evening Post.

“From then on, whenever it’s not occupied, it jumps into the chicken pen, and kills the chickens, no matter how big or small, and tries to pluck them,” said Li.

“His record is nine chickens in one day. The lesson I have learned is to never slaughter a chicken in front of a monkey.””

July 15, 2010

Pressure points

Pressure profiling, managing the pressure during the pulling of a shot of coffee, is “the next big thing”^TM in specialty coffee. Pressure is one of the variables during the shot that until now has been restricted to modifying your machine’s pump in order to have a particular water pressure supplied throughout the shot.

Slayer was the first to experiment with pressure profiling – and now, La Marzocco, the Ferrari of espresso machine manufacture, have entered the fray with their new machine the “Strada”…

(picture credit: Gizmodo)

You can read about that machine here, but interestingly, for the sake of this post, here is LM’s guide to pressure profiling.

July 15, 2010

Shirt of the Day: Blind man’s shirt

This shirt comes from a series of pretty classy and slightly functional white t-shirts. If you pull the string the blind lifts.

July 15, 2010

The chicken came first

Science has solved the great riddle of poultry origins – in a manner entirely consistent with the notion of an entity creating life (so don’t worry my fundamentalist brethren).

The chicken came first.

“It had long been suspected that the egg came first but now we have the scientific proof that shows that in fact the chicken came first,’ said Dr Colin Freeman, from Sheffield University, who worked with counterparts at Warwick University.

‘The protein had been identified before and it was linked to egg formation but by examining it closely we have been able to see how it controls the process,’ he added.”

Via here.

July 15, 2010

Bruce Winter’s tips for apologetics

We’re doing a bit of a mini-subject on apologetics this semester as part of a weekly “preparations for ministry” session.

Yesterday’s session featured Bruce Winter sharing some insights on the important discipline of apologetics garnered from his extensive studies on Paul and his culture, and from his experience as an apologist in Singapore and while working as an academic in England (Cambridge).

Here are my notes:

Every Christian is required to be ready to give a reason to the hope that lies within them.

It’s interesting that the word there – apologia – goes beyond the idea of giving some answer. Stoic philosophers used apologia to argue their case while interacting in a substantial way with the mindset of the people they’re addressing.

How are we going to engage in apologia with people in the 21^st century? Two Ways To Live isn’t going to work for everybody. We see from the way that Paul tackles apologetics that he engages the culture around him.

We need to engage the audience and move around their world – Paul’s letter to the Romans is a great apologia that removes objections to the gospel – objections that come from the mindset of people living in first century Rome.

Paul argues that we need to pull down every argument against God both within and outside the church – he talks about demolishing the stronghold of people’s ideas contrary to God, he distinguishes between the argument and the person. Paul demolishes and reconstructs these arguments “captive to Christ.

Acts 17 is a good example, and a good paradigm, of Paul connecting with the audience and their expectations and producing converts. This is the parliament of Athens.

Five things to learn from Paul to connect and engage with people’s world. This message needs to engage the thought world of the people around it.

We have to connect our message with the audience we’re speaking to – Paul connects – he makes the connections the audience required (in introducing a new God to the council – eg the building of a temple, holy days/sacrifices), he also uses their culture (eg the statue of the unknown god) to engage.
We have to structure our message in a way that provides a hearing for the gospel – The framework we present the gospel in changes based on the audience – talking to sciency people requires a different presentation to talking to people from different religious backgrounds. The main aim is that people hear the gospel connected to their world.
Know how to connect the message, and know what it needs to correct – Paul knows that people need the gospel, but he also knows what the objections to it are, and he addresses them with the correction of the gospel.
Converse with their world – it’s remarkable when you read historical sources talking about the nature of God and compare it to the way Paul quotes their arguments and poets/philosophers in his apologia. He understands their world, their language, and their issues. Paul is even able to point out inconsistencies in their current thinking and actions (they talk about the nature of Gods not living in temples made by man, but visit temples – Paul points out they aren’t living up to their basic beliefs and teachings.) He’s read the literature. He knows their teaching. He is well able to bring them to that point through the quotations of their poets.
He confronts his audience – Paul doesn’t steer clear of the topic of God’s judgment and the predicament that places his audience in. God’s judgment coupled with God’s amnesty (he calls on all people, everywhere, to repent). Paul doesn’t compromise. He’s not prepared to negotiate on the fixed points that his audience was bound to be opposed to. It’s a different worldview. Paul’s sermon in Acts 17 converts people from those opposing points of view and philosophy.

Some questions to ask regarding our approach:

How are we going to talk to different audiences?
How do we talk to those dealing with the certain uncertainty of death?
How do we connect with their views and preconceptions about Christianity and the world?
How can we talk to them about their world?
How do we talk to affluent people who think they have everything? Their question is different – “what’s missing?” – “what is it?” How do we raise the issue of the gospel in a way that articulates this need in a way they might never have considered?

A question to prompt thought in others is: If you had your life over again how would you do things differently? Everybody is fundamentally aware that they do the wrong thing at least occasionally.

We’re not dealing with blanks slates but people who have spent their lives deliberately ignoring (and justifying ignoring) general revelation. Romans 2 suggests that it’s our conscience that judges us as we face God at judgment day – so the question “how can God…” is irrelevant.

July 15, 2010

Give the gift of ninja

What to give the man who has everything… though, unfortunately, only the New York man who has everything… NINJA CLASSES.

If you really love your man, or want to turn an employee into a lean, mean, killing machine with the world’s most awesome performance incentive.

“Learn from an actual Shidoshi (teacher of the warrior ways) about the history, tradition and philosophy of these night tigers before practicing their self-defense, heightened awareness and combat strategy methods.

These lessons are a great compliment to existing martial art experience. The opportunity to use weapons in this class is on a case to case scenario and under the sole discretion of the instructor.
After this session with our experienced ninja instructor you will better understand the mystery and power that surrounds this 900-year-old martial art.”

July 14, 2010

There is such a thing as a free lunch… if you can finish it

If I could take my perfect food holiday it would be to travel the world visiting restaurants with eating challenges… well, not really. But if that’s your dream getaway here’s a compilation of some of the best and biggest in the category.
The Bull Burger

“This massive burger contains 2-½ pounds of hamburger, four slices of cheese, four slices of bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, mayo, mustard and French fries. Complete this challenge in 30 minutes and you’ll see your photo on the Bull Board, a T-shirt and your burger for free.”

Red Devil’s Pizza

“Finish a 28-inch pizza between two people within a half hour. Finish the pie and receive a gift certificate for two additional 28-inch, four-topping pizzas and Red Devil Pizza merchandise. After every 20 winners, there will be a drawing for a $500 prize.”

Mt Olympus Burger

“You and three friends can try to mount the 50-pound Mt. Olympus Burger in three hours. It’s free if you finish.”

More here.

July 14, 2010

Exegeting our suburb: trying to understand the area around our church

I gave a sermon a couple of weeks ago at Clayfield. On Matthew 9:35-10:22. A passage where Jesus describes the work of evangelism as a plentiful harvest with too few workers. I won’t bore you with the exposition I did of the passage, suffice to say my big idea was that we are to be part of the harvest in whatever way we are able because it is urgent. I spent some time showing that Jesus’ commission to his disciples to preach the coming kingdom of God to Israel was a specific commission which is replaced at the end of the book with the “great commission”…

My application focused on the area of Clayfield as our church’s mission field. It was a “think global, act local” slant. Here’s roughly the third quarter of my sermon, where I got some stats on Clayfield from Queensland’s Office of Economic and Statistical Research, I got some other bits and pieces from the Real Estate Institute of Queensland, and a little bit from OurBrisbane.com. I don’t completely buy into social demographics as a key for understanding people in a suburb. I like Tourism Queensland’s market segmentation approach a bit better – they split people into interest groups rather than arbitrary groups based on socio-economic factors. While the approach has weaknesses it’s also a really easy way to gain some insights into a community beyond the “people I know who live here” approach. And some generalisations are good generalisations.

Clayfield is a pretty difficult suburb to figure out, other than a local primary school that acts a bit like a hub, there’s not much sense of community. I preached this sermon (with different stats) in Townsville last year, and it was heaps easier to read Townsville’s pulse (possibly because that was also my job).

Here’s part of my application, copied and pasted from my manuscript, it includes some stats on Clayfield, seven basic tips on reaching Clayfield (or any community) from those stats, and of course from the passage itself:

While we can’t just take this passage and apply it completely to ourselves – we shouldn’t expect to be healing the sick and we shouldn’t just preach to the Jews – we can look at this passage and see Jesus’ concern for the lost – his desire for the good news to be preached. And that should be our priority as a church – and Clayfield is our mission field. I know many of us travel across the city to be here each Sunday, and the idea of Clayfield being our mission field may sound foreign – but if we’re not thinking about how we, as a church, can reach the suburb around us… then who will be?

It’s our job as Clayfield’s “local church” to be reaching the community with the good news of Jesus. For us the great commission extends to where we live, where we work, and where we play – but it also has to be where our church family is.

The great commission is a pretty clear imperative for Christians to be taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. We need to be people who think globally, but act locally. If we don’t reach Clayfield – then who will? Lets talk a bit about Clayfield. Our harvest.

The Suburb of Clayfield is, by most accounts, home to around 10,000 people. But we should be considering the suburbs around us too. If we broaden our horizon to the electorate of Clayfield, which is split between a few different church boundaries, but which we can consider our patch, there’s a population of 47,657 to reach. By 2026, in 15 years, the population is expected to be over 61,000.

Have you ever thought about Clayfield as a mission field? It’s hard. It’s very hard. Finding a community pulse to tap into, to be a part of, is difficult. Figuring out the wants and needs of the average Clayfielder is hard. We know, don’t we, that this is a suburb, or district, crying out for the gospel. But how do we help our neighbours know it too?

What is it that makes the average Clayfielder tick? If you have any idea then our ministry team, and our session, would love to hear it. We’re not there yet. We know the Eagle Junction school down the road is a hub, and there are clubs and societies that have local chapters – but where do we go to start harvesting? Clayfield is tough. How do you convince somebody living in relative prosperity that they need saving?

Here are some of the facts about Clayfield.

It’s a transient area, in the last census half the people in Clayfield had only been living here less than five years. One in five Clayfield residents were born overseas.

We’re not an area of social disadvantage – one in fifty Clayfielders are in the bottom economic band, While one in three people are in the top band. We’re a prosperous lot, most of us have who want jobs have jobs, half of the residents of Clayfield own, or are paying off their home. Sixty percent of us have post-school qualifications.

This presents a challenge for us as we present the good news of a crucified messiah.

It’s a caring community – one in ten residents work in health or some sort of social assistance area, one in five volunteer their time for a community group.

Based on nationwide statistics two thirds of Australians identify as Christian, 66% of people tick the “Christian” box on the census, but only 10% of the population will go to church somewhere once a month. That’s 4,700 people in Clayfield, in church, once a month. That leaves around 43,000 people the Clayfield electorate not being taught from, or even opening the Bible. Almost ever. People who have no real idea of who Jesus is. That’s a bountiful harvest. A harvest that needs, that desperately needs, workers.

That seems like a lot of people – and maybe you don’t think that sounds right. Maybe all your friends are Christians. Maybe all your workmates are Christians. Maybe all your family are Christians – if this is the case then you need to get out more.

If you want to be a harvester but don’t know where to start, let me give you some suggestions.

Help Andrew and Simone with RE and building relationships at Eagle Junction school, find someway to help out at Clayfield college. Fifty percent of school students in Clayfield attend public schools – bastions of secular culture, with the other fifty percent attending church run private schools around the city. When you look at just primary school attendance a much bigger percentage are in public schools. RE is a great opportunity to get the gospel in front of non-Christian kids, and to encourage our kids to be passionate about sharing the gospel with their friends.
Volunteer for a community organisation – I know we’re always up here asking for people to volunteer for things at church, but we can’t spend all our energy on serving each other and forgetting the world around us. Almost one in five Clayfield residents volunteer for some organisation in some capacity. If you’ve got kids who play sport, help out with their team, bring the oranges, help the coach at training. Put in the effort to go to matches and chat to the other parents. You’re probably doing this already – and you may even be doing it with gospel intentions – but that’s the key to harvesting.
If you live in Clayfield, talk to your neighbours, invite them to our Local Knowledge events coming up – they’re a great intro to people from church, they’re designed to be non-threatening. Try to get your neighbours darkening the doors of church and meeting this family that you’re a part of.
Shop locally – there are 5,400 businesses operating in the Clayfield electorate. Talk to a shopkeeper. Become a regular. Think about how you can get out there to meet people.
Use your gifts for the gospel – if challenging conversations and confrontations are not for you then why not look for opportunities to encourage other people in our church family to get involved, if hospitality is your thing why not invite your friends from work around for dinner with some friends from church. Gospel ministry is a team game. We see that in the way people show hospitality to the workers in
Pray for harvesters – you’ll notice that’s what Jesus actually calls his followers to do in chapter nine verse 38, before they get sent out on the road, That’s how we all can play a part. Because, as Jesus reminds the disciples as he speaks to them, God is in control. And all of us, as Christians, can pray.
Invest in the harvest – if all of this seems beyond you, and even if it isn’t, give generously to the work of the gospel. Harvests on farms need resources. Think about what resources you have that you can contribute to the gospel – maybe it’s your time, maybe it’s your money. The CMS slogan has it right – we’re to pray, give and go.

But if those aren’t your cup of tea there are plenty of other options – if I can drive a tractor on my father-in-law’s farm and a bunch of fishermen and accountants can spread the good news throughout Israel while facing persecution from the Government – preaching a message interpreted by their hearers as stupidity, at least after the cross… think about the non-Christians in your life, your family, your colleagues, your children’s friend’s parents, your doctor, your butcher, your baker, your candlestick maker – think about how you can be part of presenting the gospel to them. If you want to be part of the harvest, if you’re a Christian who wants to see people challenged to live with Jesus as Lord, then don’t delay – the harvest is urgent. Get involved. Find something you can do and get in and do it.

If you’re interested in the idea of cross cultural work, if you’ve always harboured a desire to be a missionary overseas, then start in our neighbourhood. One in five people here are born overseas – that equates to about 10,000 people living in the streets and suburbs around us. There are plenty of opportunities around us, plenty of people – and every one of them needs the gospel. Every one of those groups is a ministry opportunity. Every part of our community needs to be reached – and if you’re a Christian then you should be part of it. You should be a harvester.

July 14, 2010